**AT A GLANCE**
The London Coffee Festival
The Truman Brewery
London E1 6QR
Thursday 15 to Sunday 18 May 2025
Industry days: Thursday and Friday 10am-5pm
Saturday Morning session 9am-1.15pm
Saturday Afternoon session 1.30am-6pm
Sunday 9.30am-3.30pm
www.londoncoffeefestival.com
Baristas, roasters, chefs and coffee shop operators will come together for four days in May to celebrate and showcase the capital's vibrant and diverse coffee culture.
From Thursday 15 to Sunday 18 May, East London's Truman Brewery will be filled with the aromas, tastes, sights and sounds that make The London Coffee Festival a must-attend event for the hospitality industry.
This year's festival will feature more than 260 artisan coffee and gourmet food brands, demonstrations from world-class baristas, interactive workshops, competitions, street food, coffee-based cocktails, music and exhibitions.
Thursday and Friday are dedicated industry days and will have a focus on the trends, opportunities and challenges faced by operators and suppliers in the hospitality trade. Free entry is available on these days to those working in the trade, excluding suppliers and distributors.

Insight

A key element of the festival is The Lab, where professionals and enthusiasts can learn from, and be inspired by presentations, debates and workshops. Here are just a few tasters from the packed timetable:

The impact of rising prices (Thursday)

Coffee culture around the world (Thursday)

Improving workflow to heighten hospitality (Friday)

Coffee shop menus (Friday)

Exploring reverse osmosis in coffee brewing (Friday)

The future of speciality coffee (Friday)

Another opportunity to learn will be provided by the Brew School, which is brought to the festival by equipment supplier Brewed by Hand. This is a 45-minute journey through the world of coffee, featuring hands-on sessions that are perfect for anyone interested in exploring the rich flavours and artistry of the drink.

Masterclasses and interactive sessions will also feature in the Latte Art Live zone, where visitors will be able to learn from leading coffee creatives. This zone is sponsored by plant-based milk alternatives supplier Sproud, barista equipment specialists WPM, under-counter espresso machine supplier Modbar, matcha tea brand OMGTea and ceramics brand Loveramics.

Visitors can also gain invaluable insight from exhibitors on the trends shaping the industry.

For example, the continued growth of matcha will be reflected by exhibitors including Blendsmiths, Matcha and Beyond, GoMatcha, MoyaMatcha, Koyu Matcha and OMGTea.

Sustainability becomes more important to the industry every year and, for the first time ever, all single-use cups at the festival must be fully compostable. Packaging supplier Decent is providing compostable single-use Decent x LCF branded PLA Hot Cups for exhibitors and consumers. The supplier has also teamed up with reusable cup brand Huskee, which will enable visitors to borrow a cup for use on the second floor of the festival and return it to a Huskee 'Borrow Bin'.

Food & drink

A key reason for visiting The London Coffee Festival is to taste some of the best drink and food that the capital, and places much further afield, have to offer.

Sponsored by coffee machine supplier La Marzocco, the Roasters Village will bring together many of the best roasters in Europe to serve their unique coffees.

The True Artisan Café is a pop-up rotating coffee shop that has been created by La Marzocco to give independent operators the opportunity to showcase their brands and engage and educate the general public on their work and skills.

Visitors can explore Chinese coffees as Lujiazui Coffee Festival, China’s largest outdoor coffee event, is showcasing Chinese brands under the theme Meet China. Premium coffee beans and advanced coffee machines will give visitors a taste of China’s distinctive coffee culture.

The Hyde Park Bar is the perfect place to relax and sip expertly crafted coffee cocktails while enjoying curated DJ sets from artists such as Arveene

With so much to see and do, festival attendees are bound to build up an appetite, and The London Coffee Festival Food Court brings together a host of exciting food concepts. These include 'king of sandwiches' Doms Subs, savoury and sweet waffles specialist Utter Waffle and Lebanese street food from BeyRoots.

Visitors can also indulge in delicious Swedish cakes and pastries from Fika Bakery, and exceptional coffee from the Kaffe Bar, which are brought to the festival by Swedish roastery Löfbergs.

For a lighter option, visitors could opt for an affogato made with barista blends from Califia Farms, the festival's official plant-based milk sponsor. Califia Farms will also be offering tastes of its brand-new flavours before they hit the shelves.

Competitions

Competitions are a big part of the festival, and this year is no exception.

The fast-paced Coffee Masters knockout competition will take place across the four days, with 16 baristas showcasing their skills head-to-head across seven disciplines.

New for 2025 are The London Coffee Festival Awards - a celebration of the vibrant and thriving specialty coffee scene and the people that work in it. Through a combination of an independent, expert judging panel and consumer and trade voting, the awards recognise and reward the best coffee shops and influencers in categories including Best Community Coffee Shop, Best Sustainable Coffee Shop and Influencer of the Year.

Held in the Latte Art Live zone, the LCF x WPM Latte Art Throwdown will put baristas through their creative paces across a series of heats leading to a final on Friday that will determine the 2025 LCF Latte Art Champion.

And, on the subject of art, the 2025 festival's Artist in Residence, professional illustrator Mandy Johnson, will be selling her incredible artwork (with a coffee twist) at the festival.

The London Coffee Festival is organised by market-leading business information provider William Reed. Covering industries ranging from food and drink to pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, William Reed publishes digital and print media including The Grocer, and organises prestigious awards, business events and conferences.

"We look forward to welcoming visitors and exhibitors to the annual celebration of London's bustling coffee scene and its creative subcultures," said Dan Dixon, managing director for exhibitions at William Reed.

"The London Coffee Festival will again showcase the capital's pioneering specialty coffee culture and first-class hospitality industry - and will reinforce London's place as one of the most advanced coffee cities on earth."

For further information and to purchase tickets visit The London Coffee Festival website.

Apply for your free to trade ticket for the industry days (15-16 May) here.